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Jerry Spinelli

Biography

Jerry Spinelli

JERRY SPINELLI is the author of many books for young readers, including STARGIRL; LOVE, STARGIRL; MILKWEED; CRASH; WRINGER; MANIAC MAGEE, winner of the Newbery Medal; and KNOTS IN MY YO-YO STRING, his autobiography. He grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he once dreamed of becoming a major league baseball player. All of this changed at age 16, when his poem about a football game was published in the local newspaper. From then on, he wanted to become a writer.

Jerry's first book for children was published when he was 41-years-old. He still lives in Pennsylvania with his "Stargirl," his wife, Eileen Spinelli, who is also an author of children's books.

Jerry Spinelli

Books by Jerry Spinelli

Hokey Pokey is a place where childhood is at its best. The rules are simple, the games are fun, and there are no grown ups. Hoever, when Jack, one of the biggest kids, gets his bike stolen by a girl everything in Hokey Pokey starts to fall apart for Jack. Most troubling of all, he begins to hear a faint train whistle, and everyone knows that there are no trains in Hokey Pokey; just tracks.

Jake and Lily are twins. Even though they seem pretty different, they feel exactly the same. They can communicate without words. And mysteriously, every year on their birthday, they sleepwalk to a train station in the middle of the night. But when they turn 11, everything changes. Jake finds himself dealing with a neighborhood bully, while Lily struggles to make friends and get a life apart from Jake.